Design, Environmental and Sustainability Constraints of new African Observatories: The example of the Mozambique Radio Astronomy Observatory

Domingos Barbosa; Claudio Paulo; Valerio A. R. M. Ribeiro; Anita Loots; Venkatasubramani L. Thondikulam; Michael Gaylard; Arnold van Ardenne; Sergio Colafrancesco; Miguel Bergano; Jose Carlos Amador; Rodrigo Maia; Rui Melo

doi:10.1109/afrcon.2013.6757829

arXiv · 1311.4464

Design, Environmental and Sustainability Constraints of new African Observatories: The example of the Mozambique Radio Astronomy Observatory

Domingos Barbosa·Claudio Paulo·Valerio A. R. M. Ribeiro·Anita Loots·Venkatasubramani L. Thondikulam·Michael Gaylard·Arnold van Ardenne·Sergio Colafrancesco·Miguel Bergano·Jose Carlos Amador·Rodrigo Maia·Rui Melo

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Abstract

The Mozambique Radio Astronomy Observatory (MRAO) will be a first milestone towards development of radioastronomy in Mozambique. Development of MRAO will constitute a preparation step towards participation in the upcoming Africa VLBI Network and the Square Kilometer Array project. The MRAO first antenna is planned to serve as a capacitation and training facility and will be installed after the conversion of a 7-meter telecom dish in South Africa. Therefore, this first radiotelescope design has to comply with local spectral and environmental constraints. Furthermore, power availability and long term sustainability with potential inclusion of solar power and control of Radio Frequency Interference are analyzed. Here we outline some of the design, environmental and power sustainability constraints.

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Domingos Barbosa, Claudio Paulo, Valerio A. R. M. Ribeiro, Anita Loots, Venkatasubramani L. Thondikulam, Michael Gaylard, Arnold van Ardenne, Sergio Colafrancesco, Miguel Bergano, Jose Carlos Amador, Rodrigo Maia, Rui Melo. 2013-11-18. Design, Environmental and Sustainability Constraints of new African Observatories: The example of the Mozambique Radio Astronomy Observatory. https://doi.org/10.1109/afrcon.2013.6757829

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